Knoch seemingly had the game stuffed in its back pocket.

The Knights had a 3-0 lead over Freeport through six innings Wednesday at Kelly Automotive Park as Jack Bartek was working on a two-hit shutout.

“But you gotta play seven innings to win,” Knoch coach Sean O'Donnell said. “We only played six.”

The Yellowjackets scored five runs in the seventh to come away with a 5-3 victory in this battle of Section 1-4A baseball unbeatens.

Matt Charlton's two-out, two-run single to right finished off the winning rally for Freeport (6-0, 6-0).

“That's all the hard work we put in,” Charlton said. “We don't give up. We have a resilient bunch of guys.”

Knoch (6-1, 5-1) broke a scoreless tie by scoring three times in the fifth. Ethan Sloane singled to right, stole second and moved to third on the catcher's errant throw. Isaac Love hit a sacrifice fly to right to score him.

Sean McGill walked and with two outs, Alex Altmire beat out a bunt single for his third hit of the game. Jake Herrit then hit a two-run triple into the left-center field gap and the Knights had a 3-0 lead.

With Bartek allowing only five baserunners and two hits through six innings, that lead looked pretty safe.

“He was shutting us down,” Freeport coach Ed Carr said. “That kid is a good pitcher and we had to make adjustments in the batter's box. In the seventh inning, those adjustments finally started to work.”

Pinch-hitter Griffin Cohen opened the Freeport seventh by reaching first on an errant throw by the third baseman. Ben Beale lined a single to left. With runners on first and second, Gavin Skradski hit a bouncer back to the mound.

Bartek's throw to second base skipped into center field, loading the bases.

Aidan Skradski delivered a two-run single to left and Sean Furlong tied the game with a line single to center. That chased Bartek as Andy Pipes took over on the mound.

Coulton Stewart's sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Brodey Cowen was called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch, sending No. 4 hitter Charlton to the plate.

“I thought they might walk him, but there were two outs there. They had options,” Carr said.

O'Donnell said the thought of putting Charlton on first crossed his mind.

“That would have loaded the bases, though, which puts more pressure on the pitcher to throw strikes,” O'Donnell said. “And they had another good hitter (Alex Ehalt) behind him.”

Charlton drilled an inside fastball into right field for the eventual game-winning hit.”

“I always look for that pitch and I got one,” he said.

Furlong retired Knoch in order in the bottom of the seventh for a complete game. He threw 98 pitches, 61 for strikes.

“Typical Sean Furlong game,” Carr said. “He stays composed out there, no matter what's going on. He gave up the big inning, but it didn't rattle him.”

Altmire had three singles for Knoch while Sloane had a pair of singles.

“This is a tough loss, but it's only one loss,” O'Donnell said. “We're still in good shape. We can't let this game affect us down the road.”

Carr said he downplays any one win as being just that, but acknowledged the significance of coming back to defeat Knoch.

“Knoch is awfully good and for us to rally like that ... It has to give us confidence,” he said.

Freeport 000 000 5 — 5 6 1

Knoch 000 030 0 — 3 8 2

W: Sean Furlong 7IP (5K, 1BB). L: Jack Bartek 6IP (5K, 3BB).

Freeport (6-0, 6-0): Sean Furlong 1B RBI, Matt Charlton 2-1B 2-RBI, Alex Ehalt 2B, Ben Beale 1B, Aidan Skradski 1B

Knoch (6-1, 5-1): Alex Altmire 3-1B, Jake Herrit 3B 2-RBI, Dylan Swarmer 1B, Ethan Sloane 2-1B, Isaac Love 1B RBI

Thursday: Freeport at Burrell, Knoch at Deer Lakes